Where does “sam-” come from?
sam- (Middle English) comes from Old English sām-, from Proto-Germanic sēmi-, from Proto-Indo-European sēmi-, from Proto-Indo-European sem- — together, one.
Ancestry of “sam-”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | sām- | half-; partly; incompletely; half-; half, semi- |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | sēmi- | half |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | sēmi- | half |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | sem- | together, one |